It was yet another day of missed opportunities for India the 2016 Rio Olympics as the mixed doubles pair of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna lost their Mixed Doubles semi-final, losing to Rajeev Ram and Venus Williams in three sets. Gurpreet Singh and Mairaj Ahmed Khan once again failed to deliver in the shooting range, unable to reach the finals of the Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol and Skeet shooting respectively.
However, there was some cheer from the athletics contingent as Lalita Babar ran one of the best races of her career and as a result became the first Indian woman since PT Usha in the 1984 Olympics to qualify for a track final.
Here’s a roundup of results:
Athletics
Lalita Babar provided the Indian contingent and supporters with one of its best moments on Saturday, when in the 3000m steeplechase event, she finished 7th with a timing of 9:19.76, thereby progressing through to the final. The time also meant that she broke the national record as well. Her fellow countrywomen- Sudha Singh- didn't have the greatest of days as she failed to qualify for the final, finishing 9th with a time of 9:43.29.
Nirmala Sheoron too didn't have the best of days in the Women’s 400m, finishing 44th with a time of 53.03 seconds, there y failing to make the cut to the final.
Badminton
The Women’s Doubles pairing of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa lost a third straight match, this time at the hands of the Thailand pairing of Puttita Supajirakul/Sapsiree Taerattanachai 21-17 21-15.
The Men’s Doubles pair of Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy rounded off their campaign with an emphatic win over the Japanese duo of Kenichi Hayakawa and Hiroyuki Endo, defeating them 23-21 21-10.
Golf
At the end of Day 3, SSP Chaurasia finds himself tied for 22nd while Anirban Lahiri finds himself tied for 57th.
Hockey
The Indian Women’s hockey team suffered a crushing 5-0 loss at the hands of Argentina on Saturday in their final Pool B encounter, to end their Rio 2016 journey on a disappointing note.
Rowing
Competing in the Men’s Single Sculls ‘C’ Final, Dattu Bhokanal put forth a sterling performance, to finish 1st with a timing of 6:54.96. His has certainly been a story that would be spoken of in years to come and hopefully he goes from strength-to-strength from here on in.
Shooting
Gurpreet Singh failed to make the cut of the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol, finishing 7th with a score of 581, which was just two behind Leuris Pupo who finished 6th with a score of 583. In the Men’s skeet event, Mairaj Ahmed Khan finished 9th in qualifications with a score of 121.
Tennis
Much was expected from the Indian Mixed Doubles duo of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna but against the American duo of Rajeev Ram and Venus Williams, they lost in 3 sets 5-2 2-6 10-3. They will now compete in the Bronze medal match on Sunday against the Czech Republican pairing of Lucie Hradecká and Radek Stepanek.
